Off-trade

Wine – favourite tipple of 1 in 3 Brits

A third of UK adults who drink alcohol say that wine is their favourite alcoholic drink.
With almost a third of Brits saying that wine is their preferred alcoholic drink the UK’s wine drinkers "deserve the Government’s support, not punitive treatment" - Wine Drinkers UK.

With almost a third of Brits saying that wine is their preferred alcoholic drink the UK’s wine drinkers “deserve the Government’s support, not punitive treatment” – Wine Drinkers UK.

Research undertaken by YouGov was revealed recently by Wine Drinkers UK, a collection of wine lovers, makers and sellers “fed up with being unfairly taxed”.

The UK’s wine worshippers beat those beloved of beer and spirits who scored but 25% by comparison.

According to the report, wine’s popularity has increased in the UK under Lockdown with the latest off-trade data indicating a growth of 10% in wine sales year-on-year last year, with off-trade sparkling wine sales up 5% according to a Wine & Spirits Trade Association report last month.

As was the case here, overall alcohol sales were down last year due to the hospitality sector being closed or curtailed but the YouGov survey suggests that people have bought more wine to drink at home during the three Lockdown periods spanning the last 12 months there.

One in four (24%) of those questioned say that their spend on take-home wine has increased since the first Lockdown last March, with 5% saying it has increased by nearly a third.

 

Wine tax up 39%

Despite its status as the most popular drink in the UK, tax rises on wine totalling 39% in the last decade have far outstripped those on beer (16%) and spirits (27%). But only 4% of people surveyed correctly guessed that the level of tax on a £5 bottle of wine was 61% (83p on VAT and £2.23 on Duty).

The YouGov survey of more than 1,800 respondents across the UK who drink alcohol shows women are more loyal to the grape than men, with 43% choosing it as their favourite drink compared to 21% for men. For over-35s wine is their drink of choice compared to the under-35s who generally prefer beer or spirits.

 

Wine preference

Crisp, dry whites (Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc) grab first place with 41% choosing them as their favourite wine type. Full-bodied reds such as Malbec and Shiraz take second place with 39% and the ever-popular Prosecco takes third with 30%.

“Wine is enjoyed by ordinary people across the country, the old stereotype of it being a drink only for the well-off middle class is a thing of the past,” said Helena Nicklin from Wine Drinkers UK, “There hasn’t been a cut in wine tax for nearly 40 years and since 2010 duty on wine has increased significantly more than on beer, cider and spirits. This impacts an industry that’s increasingly important to the British economy and the millions of ordinary people in the UK who enjoy wine.”

According to Wine Drinkers UK, the Cut Back Wine Tax campaign has been  launched to get a fairer deal for wine drinkers across the country. It believes that with almost a third of Brits saying it’s their preferred alcoholic drink the UK’s wine drinkers “deserve the Government’s support, not punitive treatment”.

 


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